ATmega16A

Signal description (internal signals):

Depending of the mode of operation used, the counter is cleared, incremented, or decremented at each timer clock (clkT0). clkT0 can be generated from an external or internal clock source, selected by the Clock Select bits (CS02:0). When no clock source is selected (CS02:0 = 0) the timer is stopped. However, the TCNT0 value can be accessed by the CPU, regardless of whether clkT0 is present or not. A CPU write overrides (has priority over) all counter clear or count operations.

The counting sequence is determined by the setting of the WGM01 and WGM00 bits located in the Timer/Counter Control Register (TCCR0). There are close connections between how the counter behaves (counts) and how waveforms are generated on the Output Compare output OC0. For more details about advanced counting sequences and waveform generation, see “Modes of Operation” on page 76.

The Timer/Counter Overflow (TOV0) Flag is set according to the mode of operation selected by the WGM01:0 bits. TOV0 can be used for generating a CPU interrupt.

14.5Output Compare Unit

The 8-bit comparator continuously compares TCNT0 with the Output Compare Register (OCR0). Whenever TCNT0 equals OCR0, the comparator signals a match. A match will set the Output Compare Flag (OCF0) at the next timer clock cycle. If enabled (OCIE0 = 1 and Global Interrupt Flag in SREG is set), the Output Compare Flag generates an output compare interrupt. The OCF0 Flag is automatically cleared when the interrupt is executed. Alternatively, the OCF0 Flag can be cleared by software by writing a logical one to its I/O bit location. The waveform generator uses the match signal to generate an output according to operating mode set by the WGM01:0 bits and Compare Output mode (COM01:0) bits. The max and bottom signals are used by the waveform generator for handling the special cases of the extreme values in some modes of operation (See “Modes of Operation” on page 76.).

Figure 14-3 shows a block diagram of the output compare unit.

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Figure 14-3. Output Compare Unit, Block Diagram

DATA BUS

= (8-bit Comparator )

OCFn (Int.Req.)

WGMn1:0 COMn1:0

The OCR0 Register is double buffered when using any of the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) modes. For the normal and Clear Timer on Compare (CTC) modes of operation, the double buffering is disabled. The double buffering synchronizes the update of the OCR0 Compare Register to either top or bottom of the counting sequence. The synchronization prevents the occurrence of odd-length, non-symmetrical PWM pulses, thereby making the output glitch-free.

The OCR0 Register access may seem complex, but this is not case. When the double buffering is enabled, the CPU has access to the OCR0 Buffer Register, and if double buffering is disabled the CPU will access the OCR0 directly.

14.5.1Force Output Compare

In non-PWM waveform generation modes, the match output of the comparator can be forced by writing a one to the Force Output Compare (FOC0) bit. Forcing compare match will not set the OCF0 Flag or reload/clear the timer, but the OC0 pin will be updated as if a real compare match had occurred (the COM01:0 bits settings define whether the OC0 pin is set, cleared or toggled).

14.5.2Compare Match Blocking by TCNT0 Write

All CPU write operations to the TCNT0 Register will block any compare match that occur in the next timer clock cycle, even when the timer is stopped. This feature allows OCR0 to be initialized to the same value as TCNT0 without triggering an interrupt when the Timer/Counter clock is enabled.

14.5.3Using the Output Compare Unit

Since writing TCNT0 in any mode of operation will block all compare matches for one timer clock cycle, there are risks involved when changing TCNT0 when using the output compare unit, independently of whether the Timer/Counter is running or not. If the value written to TCNT0 equals

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